Hold Me Close
by Aphrodite17
Summary: Sequel to "Fly". Sarah says goodbye to Rafe and Danny.


Hold Me Close  
  
DISCLAIMER: The only character in this story that I own is Sarah.  
  
Stealing sucks, and so do the people who do it. If you want to borrow something of mine, please ask first! :-)  
  
This is a sequel to "Fly" so you might want to read that first!  
  
  
chapter one - the silent treatment  
  
It was a few months after Danny's kiss, and Rafe was still giving me the silent treatment. I knew he was actually pretty good at it, but I didn't think it would last months. I missed talking to Rafe during that time, and no matter how hard I tried to get through to him, he'd just ignore me.  
  
One night, Danny came to dinner at our house. We were all sitting at the table: Ma and Pa and each end, Rafe and Danny on one side, and I was opposite them. I was kind of mad, since Rafe had started talking to Danny that afternoon. That dinner seemed to go very slowly. There wasn't much talking, and we all glanced at each other uneasily. Danny couldn't keep a smile off of his face when he looked at me, and he kept holding back a laugh, making him turn bright red.  
  
"Danny, are you all right?" Ma asked him when she saw him grow bright red.  
  
"Oh, yes, Mrs. McCawley," he answered, and looked intently at his potatoes. That livened up the dinner, but Rafe excused himself after that and went out to the barn. Ma said Danny and I could leave, so we did. We still hadn't told either of our parents about our love, but I was always nervous whenever I saw Rafe talking to Pa or Ma. I don't think Pa would have minded as much, but Ma, well, I don't know how she would have reacted.  
  
As soon as we got outside, Danny and I went to the barn. I knew Rafe was in there, and I wanted to end this stupid silent treatment.  
  
"Rafe?" I said into the dark barn. "Rafe? Please." I walked inside, Danny a few steps behind me. I couldn't see him anywhere, but the I looked up at the old cockpit. Sure enough he was there, his head down. I wasn't close enough to hear anything, but I had a feeling he was crying. That made me stop. I had never seen my big brother cry. He wasn't the kind of guy to do that, and I didn't know if I was ready to see it. Danny came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.  
  
"It's okay," he whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes when I heard his voice. It was always so comforting, especially when he whispered in my ear. It sent chills up my spine.  
  
I slowly crept forward, not knowing what to expect. I got closer and closer to the cockpit, and I heard Rafe sobbing. I climbed up into the front seat, and kneeled on the worn seat so I could talk to him face to face.  
  
"Rafe, please don't cry," I said quietly. He looked up, his watery eyes and wet chin glistening in the moonlight.  
  
"Why?" he said. "Why did you do it?" I sighed. I thought I had told him so many times before.  
  
"I don't know, Rafe. I honestly don't know. But it felt so right, so perfect. There wasn't anything I could do about it. It just happened." I reached for his hand and held it in mine.  
  
"I just, I don't want to see you get hurt," he said. "I mean, I know you are in love, and maybe I'm just jealous. But it's so weird, seeing my little sister head-over-heels with my best friend—our best friend. Not that he would, but I don't want him to break your heart, and then you couldn't face him again, and then, and then, everything we had before would be destroyed." He put his other hand over mine, and looked at me.  
  
"Nothing could ever destroy what we've always had," I told him. "I'll always be your little sister. You'll always be best friends with Danny. I'll always be his friend. Don't worry, Rafe." He leaned forward and put his arms around me. I hugged him back, knowing that I had fixed everything with Rafe.  
  
We got down and I saw Danny leaning against the barn wall, smiling, his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Everything okay?" he asked us. I smiled, looking up at Rafe.  
  
"Yeah," said Rafe, "everything's fine."  
  
  
chapter two - off to the base  
  
Everything went well those few years after the silent treatment. Danny and I were still together six years later, and Rafe was still as single as ever. He wasn't really the committed type, so I wasn't surprised that he still didn't have a girlfriend. Ma thought he was crazy for not being married at 23. But he wasn't ready to give up his freedom.  
  
I remember the day they left for the base. It was in April, and Ma, Pa, and I were at the train station with Rafe and Danny. Mr. and Mrs. Walker didn't come, even though Pa kept trying to get them to go. I could tell Danny was sad because of it.  
  
We were all sitting on a bench, waiting for their train to come in. Nothing was really said because no one really knew what to say. It wasn't like they were going to war, but things would be so different without them around. We all knew that. But we also knew this was their destiny. We couldn't keep them in rural Tennessee forever, not when they were such great pilots.  
  
"So, Fly, looks like this is it," Rafe said, looking up at me. Fly was my nickname given to me by the guys when we were young. It was originally because I was like a pesky fly following them everywhere, but the meaning was then transferred to refer to my flying, which still wasn't great, but better than when I was twelve.  
  
"Oh, come on, Rafe," I said. "It's not like you're going to war. It's just the base."  
  
"I know, but things won't be the same without you around," he said.  
  
"Train forty-seven is in station! Train forty-seven is in station!" we heard the conductor call. Rafe and Danny looked at their tickets. Sure enough, their train was number forty-seven.  
  
"That's us," sighed Danny. We all stood up from the bench, and looked at each other. But Ma, as I knew, broke the awkward silence. She went up to Rafe and hugged him.  
  
"Goodbye, Rafe," she said. Ma wasn't one to cry, but tears glistened in her eyes.  
"Oh, please don't cry, Ma," Rafe said. "It's just training."  
  
"I know, but I'll miss you so much."  
  
"But you'll still have Sarah around." Rafe smiled at Ma and went over to Pa.  
  
"Well, looks like this is it, son," he said. "Don't go crashing any planes, now, you hear me?" Rafe laughed and hugged Pa.  
  
"I'll see you, Pa." I knew I was next. He walked in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. I heard Ma and Pa saying goodbye to Danny.  
  
"I'll miss you, Sarah," he said.   
  
"I'll miss you more. I'm gonna be all alone with Ma and Pa."  
  
"And the plane. You keep up there," he said. "Make me proud to tell all of the guys, 'Yeah, my little sister can fly better than you.'" I laughed and saw him crack a smile. He hugged me tight, and I hugged him back. I knew this wasn't the end, but it felt like it was.  
  
"You make sure Danny doesn't get a girlfriend," I told him as we pulled away from the embrace. "But make sure you do." He laughed.  
  
"I'll try." He picked up his bags and moved to the side so I could say goodbye to Danny. He walked in front of me, and we just looked at each other. I didn't know what to say to him. He was my best friend, my big brother, but I didn't think of him as my boyfriend now. I couldn't. He was my brother for way too long.  
  
"I'll miss you, Danny," I said. His hat was on straight, unlike Rafe. He always wore it crooked.  
  
"I'll miss you, too, Sarah." He took me in his arms and held me close. I didn't ever want to leave his hold, but I pulled away. He leaned in and kissed me. It was a soft kiss, but I couldn't handle it. I pulled away with tears in my eyes.  
  
"I love you," he said. I just looked up at him. He wiped the tears from my cheeks with his hand. then picking up his bag, he walked toward Rafe and went to the train. Rafe looked back and waved, but Danny just looked. I knew he was looking at me. They reached the conductor at the entrance to the train. Rafe was handing his ticket to him, and moved forward. Then Danny did the same, but I couldn't let him get away.  
  
"I love you, Danny!" I called to him. He looked back, and it looked like he was going to cry. Then he headed inside the train.  
  
That was the last time I would ever see Danny Walker. I had a feeling, right then, that I wouldn't see him again. That was why I called to him and told him I loved him. It was the truth, but I wasn't sure what love I felt toward him. I couldn't tell if it was a brotherly love or a passionate love. But it didn't matter. I still loved him, no matter what kind of love it was.  
  
  
chapter three - hold me close  
  
It was 1942 when I saw Rafe again. I had flown to Pearl Harbor to see him and Danny come out and come home. But I didn't see Danny. Rafe was there, and I expected him to be happy when he got out, with Danny behind him. But all that was following him was a wooden casket. I knew it was Danny, and I started crying. Evelyn was next to me, and she put her hand on my arm. I knew why she was crying.  
  
When Danny left on that train, I had let him go. I think he knew I had, too, because I later got a letter from this nurse, Evelyn Stewart. I knew who she was because Rafe had told me about her. She was his girlfriend. But her letter didn't have to do with love for Rafe. It was about Danny. She told me she had heard about me from him, and that I was the only one who could know about this. She was pregnant, with his child. I cried myself to sleep that night. I felt as though Danny had betrayed me, but I knew, deep in my heart, that there was no reason for me to feel that way. I had let him go.  
  
Anyway, there we were, Evelyn and I, tears running down our cheeks as we saw Rafe appear. I pushed her to go see Rafe first, and I just sat on a bench, head in my hands, sobbing.   
  
An hour later, everyone else was gone. I was the only one on that bench, and I was still crying. I was crying for Danny. I was crying for his unborn child. I was crying for Rafe, and Evelyn. But I was also crying for myself. I had lost my best friend, and I couldn't do anything about it. I knew that I would never forget him. He was the greatest person to grace my life, and I knew I couldn't hold onto him forever. So as I was sitting on that bench, I let him leave. I let him go to wherever he was now. But I promised him that I would be sure his child would know about him, and I promised that there would always be a piece of my heart for him. I would hold his kiss, his touch, his laugh, his life, in my heart, a part of my heart just for him.  
  
Rafe sat next to me on the bench, and held me close. We must have sat there for fifteen minutes, holding each other close. We each lost a brother, and a best friend, but I knew that neither of us would ever forget him.   
  
  



End file.
